By Sean Farrell

My pleas have been heard, or I would like to believe so as UFC President Dana White confirmed to USA Today that UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be making his ninth title defense against top contender Yushin Okami this summer at the HUGE event in Brazil UFC: Rio.

Silva and Okami have fought once before, at Rumble on the Rock 8 back in 2006, with Okami being granted the winner via disqualification after Silva knocked him out with an illegal upkick while Okami’s knees were still on the mat. The bout with Okami was the last time that Silva had tasted defeat in any fight.

Silva is currently the UFC’s most dominant champion EVER he holds the record for most consecutive title defenses with eight and most consecutive victories in the promotion thirteen. Most recently, the Brazilian defended his belt against Vitor Belfort in dramatic fashion, knocking out “The Phenom” with a front kick to the face in the first round of their UFC 126 meeting this past February.

It was being heavily rumored that Silva would be facing UFC welterweight champ Georges St. Pierre in a superfight if he gets past Jake Shields later this month.
Okami has earned his spot as number one middleweight contender by virtue of defeating Lucio Linhares, Mark Muñoz and Nate Marquardt consecutively. The man they call “Thunder” Okami has only lost twice in the UFC, to Chael Sonnen and former champion Rich Franklin. Okami’s current record stands at 26-5.

UFC: Rio

will take place on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and will mark the UFC’s second ever trip to the country; the promotion held UFC: Ultimate Brazil, in Sao Paulo back in 1998 and this return trip to Brazil is going to be one of the biggest MMA cards in the history of the sport.

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